


Paper Planes

by phoebemaybe



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fluff, Jon is a skeptical cynic, Jonerys Modern AU, Romance, This time Dany is the hopeless romantic hehe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-16
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-03-19 11:37:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13703676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoebemaybe/pseuds/phoebemaybe
Summary: Tired of being alone, Dany sets out to find her soulmate with words of love upon the wings of paper air planes. Will a romantic be able to change a skeptic’s mind and turn him into a believer in destiny and soulmates? Read on to find out!For Jonerys Valentine’s Week Day 3 :)





	Paper Planes

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! So, this fic is my contribution to Jonerys Valentine's Week, Day Three. It's my first time doing something like this :). Also, this will be my first time writing a Soulmate AU and my first Modern AU fic! So many firsts lol @.@ 
> 
> Mood board credits to midqueenally on tumblr. You are one talented girl!
> 
> Without further ado, enjoy readers~

Everyone said she was a romantic, ever since she was a small child, a romantic with her mind in the clouds, a dreamer. The very moment her soul mark manifested on her collarbone one morning, she had all but ran around her house shouting in glee, telling each member of her household that she had a soul mate and she was going to meet them one day, just like her mummy and daddy did. She was ecstatic. She couldn’t wait to meet whoever they were that bore a mark that was a pair with hers.  

  
“How will I know if I’ve met the right person? How will I know that they’re mine, mama?” The little girl asked, rubbing at her mark with a finger, her eyes bright with anticipation, with hope. 

Her mother gave her button nose a playful pinch. “You’ll know when your mark starts to grow warm.” Giving the girl’s chest a tap, she continued, “That warmth will then spread to your heart.” Her finger moved down further, the woman then gave her daughter’s belly a poke. “And make you feel all fuzzy in here, like butterflies taking to the sky.” The little girl giggled and dove into her mother’s arms. “When you lay eyes on them, you just know.” She couldn’t wait for that day to come.

The years passed and the little girl blossomed into a beautiful young woman who currently sat with her chin resting atop of her knees, hugged close to her chest. Her sock clad feet tucked under a warm fleece blanket that she had draped around her shoulders. Sitting by her window, she watched the traffic zoom by down below. Tipping her head back to rest on the windowsill, Dany smiled languidly, listening to the occasional tooting of a car horn, the beeping of the traffic light on the street corner and the muffled chatter of people enjoying their night time merriment as they strolled by on the street. This city sure didn’t sleep, even at midnight. It reminded her of home, back in London.   
  
Trailing the nail of her finger across his red scaly back, she asked: “Too bad we can’t see the stars from here huh, Drogon?” The bearded dragon flicked his tongue and blinked up at her from his position sprawled on her feet. He was so cute, her little dragon. Turning her eyes back to the cloudy sky, Dany hoped that one day, when she found her soul mate, they would go off on numerous get away road trips, just driving anywhere, out of the city to the middle of nowhere. When the sun went down, they would stargaze on a hill somewhere far away from civilization and just be together. She just hadn’t met them yet. 

One day, maybe sometime in the future, someday soon. Hopefully. If they didn’t find her, maybe when her patience ran thin, she’d take the leap and seek them out instead. 

With an inhale, Dany lifted her arms above her head in a stretch, feeling the tension of the muscles in her arms unwinding as they lengthened, feeling the kinks in her back loosening. Tilting her head this way and that, she worked on the stiff muscles in her neck for a few moments before allowing her hands to fall with an exhale. Time for bed. Returning Drogon to his glass terrarium, Dany headed to the bathroom to wash up and get ready for a good night’s rest. After around fifteen minutes or so, she came back out. 

Just like every night, she went around the house turning off all the lights from the bathroom to the living room and the connecting kitchen as she headed back to her bedroom. Flicking off the light switch, her cosy room plunged into darkness. Save for her bedside table lamp, casting a dim warm glow about the room. Sliding under the duvet with a contented sigh, Dany carried out the last step to her nightly routine, something that she did every night since she was a child. Bringing two fingers to her lips, she kissed them before touching them to her clavicle. Tracing her index and middle finger of her right hand along her soul mark, a white dragon soaring across her skin, resting just above her collarbone, close to where her heart beat strong, she whispered a quiet ‘goodnight to you, my dear, whoever you are, wherever you are’. When they met, she’d tell them good night properly, in person, preferably with her tucked snugly into their side and they’d kiss her good night on her forehead. Then, they’d drift off to sleep still holding each other. But until then, this would have to suffice. Turning off the lamp, Dany shut her eyes and shortly, fell asleep.

A floor below, a man was close to running late for his shift at the pub down the street. In his haste to reach his front door, his toe came into contact with the corner of his shoe cabinet. Hard.   
  
“Bloody hell!” The curse tumbled out of his mouth as he hopped on the spot with a hand clutching at his now throbbing big toe. “God! That really hurts.” Jon exclaimed to no one in particular but his snow white husky that sat watching his owner act like a loon, jumping on one foot trying to slip on his shoes. “Don’t laugh at me, you rascal. I know you’re secretly grinning over there at my suffering.”   
  
Ghost whined, looking sad and feeling wronged, like a literal personification of a kicked puppy. Tucking his head between his paws his peered up at Jon with his largest puppy dog eyes.   
  
“Oh alright....” Jon wasn’t mad at his puppy. He never could be. Since the moment Ghost’s ruby eyes met his dark ones from behind the cage door at the local animal shelter, he knew this pup with ears still too big for his head was going to come home with him and own his heart. “I was just joking anyway. You’re a giant sweetheart and would never do that to me.” With both boots finally on his feet, Jon gave Ghost a quick scratch under his furry chin, before grabbing his guitar by the cabinet. “I’ll be back soon, you be good now!”  
  
Jogging down the stairs, all four flights of them two steps at a time, Jon hit the ground with a huff. No time to lose though, he ran straight out the front door of the old five story brownstone apartment, throwing a wave over his shoulder at the dozing receptionist before hopping onto his motorcycle. He had fifteen minutes to get there, do a brief sound check before stepping on stage. He wasn’t usually this absent-minded and he definitely never drank himself to sleep. Turns out he still wasn’t as over her as he thought. Who knew people were capable of feeling such despondency. Well, he knew for a fact now, that if you set your mind and heart up thinking that the girl of your dreams was the one for you and in the end she left you for another man? Heartbreak was bound to happen.   
  
See, Jon was a sceptic on the whole soul mate nonsense. After having experienced his parents’ heated fights, their falling out and later divorce, understandably, any child would have been affected. They were supposed to be soul mates who were made for one another, made to love one another, they belonged together. But if that were true, they would never have separated. The day the judge made him choose a parent to live with was the day he stopped believing. He hid his soul mark under layers of clothing, he denied having one when anyone asked, convincing himself that even if he had a soul mate and he found them, things would probably not end well. They could very well wind up hating each other. The fear of betrayal by the one who was meant to cherish him gripped at young Jon like a suffocating noose around his heart. So, to protect himself, he walled it off, forsaking to the idea of ever finding his soul mate. Until one night, he found himself locking eyes with the most beautiful girl amongst all the dancing bodies in the audience. He fell for her so quickly and as luck would have it she didn’t believe that soul marks controlled who you loved either.   
  
Or so she claimed.   
  
In the end, she still left him for her soul mate that she didn’t think existed all this while. He turned out to be an old classmate of hers from her childhood and they found each other at their high school reunion a month ago. 

A very sad Jon locked himself in his apartment, packing her belongings away in boxes with a beer in hand. For three whole weeks, he scarcely left his home except for food, collect the mail and walk his dog. His friends came by occasionally to try and cheer him up or just to check up on him, to make sure he hadn’t completely neglected to look after himself. They had been there from the start, witnessing this quiet, shy man come out of his shell, witnessing the couple being happy together. They knew that he was very much in love with her. Her leaving would devastate him. And it did. 

Just when Jon seemed to be getting better, picking up the pieces of his shattered heart, he bumped into her, hanging off her soul mate’s arm, all smiles and heart eyes, at the store one evening while getting groceries. All the memories and pain came flooding back. Back to the bottle he went. Heartbreak sucks, Jon concluded ruefully, putting on his helmet.  
  
This would be his first night back after a three-week leave of absence. He didn’t want to be late. He needed to get his life back. As much as heartbreak sucked, the possibility of homelessness after being kicked out of his apartment for not being able to pay rent sucked even more. Besides, submerging himself in work doing something he was a natural at might help him get over her even faster. Starting the ignition, the motorcycle sputtered to life and off he went.   
  
“You’re a sight for sore eyes!” A cheery voice, carrying a heavy Irish lilt said to him, as Jon trudged towards the back entrance of the pub with minutes to spare. It was the bartender out for a quick smoke break. The bartender who just so happened to also be his boss.  
  
“Hey.” Jon gave him a little wave. “I hope it’s not too late for me to perform tonight?” He asked hefting his guitar higher up his shoulder.  
  
“Of course it’s not! You’re welcome anytime, boy!” The wise bar keep gave Jon’s back a pat. “The band is still getting ready. You’re just on time.”  
  
“Thanks, Dadvos. You know, for everything.” Jon muttered, eyes not quite meeting his. Sometimes he didn’t know how he came to be so lucky to have found friends like these.   
  
Davos was like a father to everyone. He was always there to provide sound anecdotes of advice. A comforting shoulder or a hug came with him too. He was always fussing over the youngsters who worked at the pub and a protective knight, defending the honour of his customers from sleazy wandering hands. He had a big heart and treated everyone who came through his doors with a welcoming attitude and a smile. He was the one who paid Jon the most visits while he brooded and moped, bringing groceries and cooking up a warm meal for Jon.  
  
The older man chuckled heartily at his nickname. “Don’t even mention it, you sappy child.” Giving Jon a quick side hug, Davos pushed him through the door. “Get on stage and do what you do best!” As it swung shut behind him, Jon could hear the fond smile in his friend’s voice.   
  
Just as it always had been, the place still smelled of alcohol, old beer spilt from sloshing glasses, greasy food and a hint of sweat. As his eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, the wooden high tables dotting the centre of the venue, the plush booths with their velvety red cushions lining the sides and the crowd of chattering people holding their various drinks came into view. The pub was full tonight, on a Saturday. The crowd was already bustling with energy. He could tell this was going to be an enjoyable night. Sweeping his eyes across the floor, Jon spotted his band mates easily. Davos co-owned the pub with one of his band mates, Tormund who was currently sitting by his drums, twirling his drumsticks and laughing at something Gendry by the keyboard had said.   
  
“Look who decided to show up.” Gendry welcomed his buddy on stage with a hug and a fist bump. Gendry was Davos’s godson and nephew. He often came to the pub after school to help out and eventually decided to join the family full time after graduating from high school. He and Jon became fast friends shortly after Jon started part timing there. He was working multiple jobs at the time whilst finishing his degree at NYU and this one quickly became his favourite.  
  
A genuine, happy smile spread across Jon’s face as he returned the hug. “It’s good to be back.” He confessed.  
  
“Oh.“ Tormund rose from his seated position with his arms wide open. “Come here you.” Walking around his drum set, he engulfed the smaller man in a big bear hug. Jon’s guitar case slipped off his shoulder at the sudden jostling. He caught the strap to slow its descent and settled it down on the floor beside him before patting the burly man with the hand that wasn’t squished to his body. “We have missed you so very much, little brother!” Don’t let his gruffness and large stature scare you. Tormund was actually a very sensitive, passionate person. His young daughter could tell you how he sits with her on her very tiny play chair by her very tiny play table and have tea parties with all her toys. To his friends, he was fiercely loyal, a good mate to have.  
  
“Aye, you should have done this sooner.” The lead singer of their band reached over to give Jon a chuff on the back of his head. Just like Tormund, Sandor Clegane was a very large man with a gentle soul underneath all that brute and grumpiness, with the voice of an angel. His proudly honed a set of deep tenor pipes that had the capacity to reach some surprisingly high notes. Upbeat rock music was his specialty although he did take pride in the odd ballad or two.   
  
“Tonight, we shan’t do any sad songs, only happy ones!” Tormund declared, banging his stick against the metallic cymbals.  
  
“Let’s do this!” Gendry said. The band was back together again. Weeks of being one bassist less had finally come to an end.

Right here, surrounded by his friends, Jon found his sorrow dissipating. His band mates missed him, as did some of the fans he had collected since his first show. And now, standing under the spotlights, he realised that he too had missed this. Missed the feel of the strings under his fingers, the ambience of an enthusiastic crowd, the high of jamming through the chorus of a song and the sweat on his brow after a good show.

* * *

The bell above the door to the quaint little cafe jingled cheerfully as Dany pushed the door open with a “Good morning!” to her best friend. A young lady with creamy mocha skin and a head of glorious curls poked her head out from behind the counter. “Morning, Dany!” Missandei handed her a freshly brewed cup of coffee, complete with a foam drawn daisy. Since, Dany started work later, the two friends usually spent their mornings like this during the weekends, enjoying some time to catch up over a quick breakfast. The cafe was still quite empty at seven in the morning with people generally opting to sleep in on Sundays and have brunch later in the day.

  
Sneaking a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie from the jar by the cash register, while her friend was occupied with washing, Dany asked: “What’s on the menu this fine morning?” Her voice muffled between bites.   
  
“Besides what you’re munching on?” Missandei teased, laughing lightly from behind her fingers at the sheepish grin Dany sported mid chew with the cookie hovering by her lips and her cheeks stuffed like a nut-hoarding chipmunk.   
  
“On display, we have the usual, muffins, cupcakes, croissants, sandwiches, you know the lot. Adding to the regular items on the menu today we have the specials.” Turning to the black board positioned by the counter in front of the display case, Missandei pointed to the new brunch items she had came up with. Being the owner of the cafe and a chef meant that you could have some fun with inventing. Thankfully, her employees were always down to get creative with their cooking. “A mixture of sweet and savoury. For the sweet we have red velvet waffles with a cream cheese icing drizzle and your choice of toppings, banana, chocolate sauce and even ice cream if you’d like. If you’re favouring something hearty but healthy, we have the big breakfast with a twist...” As she spoke, Missandei’s eyes lit up enthusiastically. Dany was so proud of how far her soft-spoken friend had come. She would always remember the shy young girl who sat beside her during orientation, who only kept to herself for the longest of time, who didn’t know how much potential she held within her petite body. Missandei had grown up to become this spunky young woman with a can do attitude and the steadfast optimism that allowed her to be courageous and open the cafe that she’d always dreamt of running.   
  
As the first customers started to trickle in, Dany took her cup of coffee with her and headed to the adjoining shop next door, the bookstore that she called her own. 

Pulling up the blinds, Dany allowed the sunbeams to stream in, bathing the tiny shop and showering the wall high bookshelves behind her in a golden glow. Just like every day, she went around the shop, climbing up the ladders to reach higher shelves with a duster and pan giving the place a quick dusting, arranging the books neatly in their rightful spots and checking if the reading nook was sufficiently cosy. Only after all that, would she open the doors to the people, be it from the cafe with their mugs of coffee or those who stumbled across this relatively hidden spot in an alleyway, lured in by the smell of roasting coffee beans next door.  
  
Dany headed over to the counter to boot up her laptop. While she waited for it to start up, she connected her cell phone to the wireless speaker and moments later, light jazz music filled the air. After looking over the stock-list and doing some housekeeping, it was finally time to flip the sign hanging from the door from ‘closed’ to ‘open’.  
  
Looking at the books all around her, Dany smiled a wan smile. This shop belonged to her grandfather who passed it on to her after he passed away. When Dany graduated from college, she took over the business from him with a bittersweet feeling in her chest. This old bookshop was a very special place to her. As a child, this was where she would spend most of her summer breaks at, with her nose constantly buried in a book. The words printed on yellowish brown pages took her on adventures with fictional friends. Her imagination fashioned her as the protagonist warrior queen, fighting for the right to rule her kingdom, protecting the weak and freeing the slaves from cruel masters. In her mind, Dany could still picture herself as a toddler, sitting on her grandpa’s lap on the window seat of the reading nook. His larger calloused hand curled around her smaller one, guiding her through the sentences as she stumbled along, reading the words aloud. Her grandma Anne always brought them cookies with glasses of warm milk. What she remembered most clearly, more than anything was the way her grandpa looked at her grandma and the way he would drop a loving kiss to the back of her hand when she was near. They were so in love just as soul mates should be. Having grown up seeing the way her parents acted around each other, like a synchronized waltz, always gracefully tender with one another. These relationships were what she hoped to have in the future. They acted as the fuel, keeping her romantic notions alive and her belief in soul mates unwaveringly strong. If relationships like theirs could exist, maybe finding her own wouldn’t be too impossible.   
  
“Excuse me?” Came a small voice from behind the counter, dispersing Dany’s cloud of introspective thoughts. Looking up, expecting a customer, Dany saw no one. “Umm… Hello.” A brown mop of hair popped up from below the counter. A young girl who looked about six stood on her tiptoes with her fingers grasping at the edge of the counter to keep herself elevated. Chewing on her bottom lip she presented Dany with a bashful smile.  
  
“Hello there, little one!” Dany leant forward on her elbows to meet the child’s eyes. Glancing around the shop, Dany couldn’t see anyone else. Was this child alone? “Where’s your mummy? Does she know you’re here?” A kid out and about alone could be dangerous, no matter the time of day.   
  
“Yes. She’s having brunch at the cafe.” The girl said pointing at the side door that ran between the two shops. ”I told her I was coming to look around.”  
  
“All right. What can I do for you today?”  
  
“Well.... I need some help.” A slight furrow between the little girl’s brows began to form.  
  
Wanting to pay her full attention, Dany came to sit on her haunches in front of the child. “With what?”  
  
“I need a guide book on how to start soul mate hunting.” The girl stated with the utmost solemnity. “I want to help mummy find her soul mate so she’ll smile again, like she used to with daddy. Daddy wasn’t her soul mate but I think she loved him very much and he loved her too. But then he had to go to heaven.” The pout on her lips deepened into a frown. Her mummy had been so sad lately. She had to find her mum’s soul mate to give her mother a second chance at happiness.  
  
Children had the biggest hearts. Dany’s heart practically melted, hearing the little girl’s determination. “That’s very sweet of you. Your mummy would be very touched if she knew.”

Feeling shy, the girl averted her eyes away from Dany, suddenly very interested in the wooden floor. Her sparkly sneakered foot nudged at the lining of the carpet on the floor. “Do you believe that we all have that one person that we’re destined to be with?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” Dany replied with a nod.   
  
Feeling reassured that she had found someone who believed in the same thing, the girl grinned, showing Dany her lack of front teeth, glad that she had found someone who believed in the one thing that her now single mum refused to talk about anymore.  
  
“Then, have you found your soulmate yet, miss?” The girl asked as her blush faded, fiddling with the ends of her pigtails.   
  
“Not yet, no.” Dany replied, lacing her fingers together, giving her a weak smile.   
  
“Oh...” They were in the same predicament. Apprehension niggled at the pit of her stomach. How would this lady be able to help unite her mum with her soul mate if she hadn’t found hers?   
  
“Hey.” Sliding a finger under the child’s chin, Dany caught her eyes with an encouraging smile. “I haven’t given up though. Neither should you and I think your mummy would appreciate a little push in the right direction. Give her some time to grieve for your dad and then.... maybe with a little help from you, she’d be ready to open her heart up again.” Closing her fingers around the girl’s hand to send her some assurance, Dany added: “Don’t you worry. If they’re out there, we’ll find them for sure. Your mum will too.”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Yeah.”

Shoving her tiny hand into her pink jacket pocket, she pulled out some money. “I brought cash with me to buy one. Mummy is still eating next door with Aunty Ginny but we should hurry.” Her huge caramel eyes shone with such resolve. Dany saw a glimpse of her young self reflected in her glittering brown orbs.  
  
Pushing herself up to stand, Dany offered the girl her hand to take. “Okay. Let’s see what I can find for you in the shelves.” The girl took her hand willingly, her tiny fingers barely wrapping around three of Dany’s, the child skipped all the way to the children section, tugging her along with such enthusiasm.

Watching the girl marching back to her mum, her guidebook clutched so tightly to her chest, one crucial thought regarding her future circled her mind. Maybe she shouldn’t wait anymore. Over the years, she’d been with several guys, mostly never lasting too long. She was lucky to have exes that were all so understanding. When they broke things off, they never got too upset. Despite all that, each break up just made her wearier. They were never her soul mate. After the fourth time, she made up her mind to lock her heart away and the only person who had the key would be her soul mate. In the blink of an eye, the last time she had dated had been three years ago. Sadly, she wasn’t getting any younger and if she wanted to spend the rest of her life with her special someone? Perchance, now was the time to start strategizing a way to bring her soul mate to her.

* * *

There were many different, varied soul mate encounters people have said to have experienced, from seeing new colours to smelling wonderful scents when your soul mate was near, the list went on. The one that attracted Dany the most was the utilization of hand written notes and paper planes. Some say that if you fly a paper airplane through the sky, with a little help from the strings of fate, they always wind up landing where your soul mate was. Trusting in the strength of this invisible bond that they shared, that sacred unbreakable connection between two souls crafted to fit perfectly with one another, using her words scribbled between the folds of paper, that was how Dany planned to bring her soul mate to her. After all, being soul mates meant that if one half called out loud enough, the other half would hear them beckoning. So, in theory, this could probably work. Like the siren call of the sea calling to a land bound sailor, in her case a soul mate lacking woman who had grown tired of waiting and wants her soul mate to come to her instead. Since she started building a wall around her heart and pushing away suitors, reserving that fragile part of her being for that one special person, never once had she stopped to ponder whether she was lonely or not. Now, sitting on the steps of the fire escape outside her apartment with a paper plane in her lap, she readily admitted to herself, yes, she was indeed lonely, wanting to yank on that red thread on her pinkie finger and pull that person on the other end to her. Her palms were sweaty and her stomach flipped flopped around in her body. For the first time in a long time, she felt so alone, embarking on an adventure into the unknown. You could also add terrified to the mix, akin to bobbing on a stormy sea in a small dingy sailboat with no compass to guide her. There was no way in knowing if this would actually work, there were so many what ifs. Her message could end up with someone who wasn’t even remotely close to being her soul mate or these planes could get lost somewhere in a gutter, no one would find them and if her soul mate did find them, would they want to come for her? What if they already had a lover? 

  
“I suppose we won’t know until we try.” Lifting the paper plane from her lap, taking in a shaky breath, she pulled her arm back. Be brave, she told herself. “Here we go.” Exhaling, she thrust her hand out and the plane went flying through the darkened night sky. Hands resting on the metal railings in front of her, she traced its trajectory, watching the plane swirl through the air with wide eyes until the plane disappeared out of view down the side of the building.   
  
There. It was done.   
  
She didn’t know how many more times she would need to do this for her plan to work, but she had no doubt that she would never stop trying.   
  
Out of view, the paper plane took a dive, dropping in altitude before swooping in an arc, cutting a straight path through the air, before crash landing with a clatter on the fire escape of the apartment of a certain bassist a floor below.   
  
Hearing the clamour from outside, Ghost’s floppy ears twitched and stood at attention. Bounding over to the living room windows, he started to bark trying to attract his owner’s attention. There was something outside.

A freshly showered Jon padded out of his steamy bathroom clad in a grey tee shirt and black sweatpants with a towel around his neck to catch the water droplets dripping down from his still damp hair. Hearing all the commotion, he walked over to his dog. “What is it, boy?” 

The puppy barked and stood on his hind legs to look out the window with his front paws propped up against the window ledge. Curious, Jon looked out too. 

There was a folded paper plane stuck with its rear end facing the sky and its pointy end facing downwards, caught in between the holes of the metal gratings of his fire escape. “Where’d that come from?” Pushing open the window, Jon stepped out to retrieve it. Shuddering at the cool autumn breeze that blustered by, picking up the plane, he quickly slid back inside. 

Jon regarded it curiously as he made his way to his couch. Flopping down with a sigh, Jon turned the plane around in his hand. It was just how a paper plane should be, folded from a page torn out of those notebooks with yellow pages and red lines. Lifting it above his head, he playfully moved his arm back and forth, mimicking the flight of an airplane through the air, chuckling quietly to himself. As the plane moved under the light, he began to notice that there were words written within the folds of the paper. “Huh.”

Unfolding the plane, Jon found that in the middle of the paper, a neat hand had scrawled a string of words. Instinctively, he knew that those words were meant for him and him alone, this mysterious sender was talking to him, calling out to him.   
  
“Hello. You don’t know me, I don’t know you either. What I do know is that my heart is singing, singing a song that only you could hold a tune to. My darling, where are you? Please find me. Until then, this duet shall remain a solo piece. D.”  
  
As his read, a peculiar sensation began to form in his chest. Something he had never experienced before. It was a pleasant sort of feeling, so warm like the kiss of the sun on a clear summer afternoon. With a palm on his chest, he could almost feel that warmth radiating from inside. Underneath the pleasantness held an undertone of sadness. How odd, he thought, that random words from a stranger on the tattered piece of paper could evoke such tumultuous emotions.  _My darling, where are you?_  He found himself feeling an odd sense of yearning, a twinge of sadness and longing like he missed someone. He found himself missing the stranger who released this paper plane out to the world with that incomplete song in their heart, who was searching for their partner. But how was it possible to miss a person you’ve never even met?

* * *

“I wonder if someone found the planes.” Dany said out loud, pouring some milk into her tea.

  
“What planes?” Missandei asked as she arranged the tins of tealeaves on her kitchen shelf.  
  
“Oh. I sent paper planes out to my soul mate.” Stirring her spoon through the hot brew, Dany watched the milk swirl and mingle in with the amber of the tea in her mug until the two liquids formed a uniform light creamy brown. 

  
Missandei squealed, reaching across the island to wrap her best friend up in the tight squeeze of her arms. “Finally! You’re doing something! Took you long enough!” Shaking Dany by the shoulders. “I know you’ll find them for sure!”  
  
“That’s the thing though, I’m betting on them finding me!” Dany laughed clutching at Missandei’s arms. “I’ve read that if I sent a plane out and if someone finds it and they come for me , there’ll be no doubt that they’re my soul mate.”   
  
“Awwww!” Missandei squealed again pulling Dany to her. “That’s so romantic!”  
  
“Hehe.” It was a romantic idea, one that was true to who she was. “I’ve already sent three from my apartment. They’ve all flown out to the streets of New York and god knows where else by now. Who knows if anyone would pick them up? Or just ignore them like they’re rubbish, like litter on the side walk.” Dany sighed, her cheerful mood turning into unease.  
  
Misseandai ruffled her silver blonde curls affectionately. “How often do you see a paper airplane these days? Someone is bound to notice!”  
  
“That’s true.”   
  
“Wouldn’t it be funny if the road sweep found them and threw them away?” Missandei snorted at the thought, hiding her laugh behind her mug of tea.  
  
Dany swatted at her arm with a mock angry pout. “That’s not funny, Sandy.”  
  
Unbeknownst to her, someone had indeed found them. In fact he seemed to be finding them everywhere he went. With each one he only grew more befuddled. Puzzled at the whole array of feelings being churned out by his heart at the words of a stranger, words of love, and the request for him to find them. While they didn’t explicitly say that it was him, he knew in his gut that he was the intended recipient.   
  
There was also the mystery of the letters at the end. Pondering over what the letters at the end could mean, Jon came to the conclusion that maybe they were clues for him to find them or identify them if and when he saw them. The first one ended with a D. The second note came with an A.

He had found that plane one evening, when he brought Ghost out for his every day potty time. The plane was trapped among the branches of the tree Ghost had chosen to do his business under of all places, made from the same paper as the last one that now sat atop his bookshelf in his bedroom. Without much thought, Jon plucked it out of the tree, tucked it into his jacket pocket and brought it back home with him. 

“There’s a saying: To love is to be vulnerable. If you loved something, there in lies the risk of your heart getting painfully torn to shreds. I sometimes wonder if that is why people close their hearts off from love. Are you, kind stranger, who didn’t throw away this piece of paper and is reading this, afraid of love? If you are, I promise, that when you find me, I will protect your heart with all my life because I don’t want to be lonely anymore, I want to try being vulnerable. Hopefully, I’ll get that chance with you. A.”

Was he afraid of love? Jon wasn’t afraid to admit it. Yes, he was afraid. However, the note did provide him with some comfort. At least he wasn’t alone, someone knew what it was like, someone understood. Rationally, this all very well could be a coincidence, him finding the paper planes conveniently placed right in his path? But in life, were there really such things as coincidences? Or was everything that happened going according to a well-concocted, well-arranged plan created by the hands of fate?   
  
He spotted the third airplane one morning, perched on the seat of his motorcycle while coming out of the pub from his shift. Just like he did the last one, he brought it home with him too.   
  
“Hello to you again, whomever is reading this. I hope I’m not boring you with my one sided thoughts on the matter of love. I have a proposal to make for you, if we meet one day, I hope you don’t mind me dragging you around to tick of a personal soul mate bucket list that I have. If you have one, I wouldn’t mind you dragging me off on adventures too. Because I hope that for us, home need not be a house, it could be a person. As long as we’re together, that’s all that I care about. N”  
  
The tone of this note felt more personal, friendly almost, like the sender was talking to him in person. It made him smile and that ever present warmth since the first note kept him company throughout the day as he slept and while he worked during the night. He couldn’t wait to find another one of these notes. Maybe with more of these, he could start piecing together a way to locate the sender. Even if they weren’t meant to be his, they could probably get along just fine as friends. It wasn’t very often that you find someone who had the same ideals as you after all. Also, he needed to start thinking and compiling a list of things he wished to accomplish with his potential other half one day. His heart was gradually healing and maybe soon, he’d be ready.   
  
“Ow.” Jon winced, rubbing at his head. What a way to be start his day off, well night to be exact, thanks to his reversed sleep schedule. Having an airborne object hit you in the head no less? Not cool. He was just heading out and all he wanted was to restock his fridge. Through his squinted eyes, Jon saw that the object was in fact another paper plane. Glancing up from where the plane had fallen from, the trajectory seemed to be from the roof. Unfurling the paper quickly, with an almost desperate need, his eyes lapped at the words hungrily.   
  
“People fall in love in mysterious ways. Do you think that’s true? I’d like to think so. Sometimes, it gets lonely when you see people walking hand in hand with their lover, their soul mate or that person they chose to be with. I’ve been alone for a while. You see, I’ve been meaning to save my heart for the right person, my soul mate. But now.... I’m not sure if I should be doing so anymore. Maybe it would be better if I moved on. Y.”  
  
“Dany.” He had a name. Dany. That name could belong to both sexes. Dany could be short for Daniel or Danielle. Jon didn’t have much time to think before his feet took off running. His panicking heart was screaming at him. “No! No! No! You have to go and stop them.” It didn’t matter to him if it turned out that he wasn’t their soul mate, what mattered was he couldn’t let this person give up, not when their message had been sent and received so clearly. They needed to know that at least.  
  
For the first time since he was a little boy, since the day his father walked out the door, he found himself praying. A part of his heart was praying that the other half of his soul was calling out to him, talking to him through these little pieces of paper. The feeling deep down in his being told him yes it was his soul mate. But could it be possible? If so, should he pursue this tugging on his heart? Dare he hope that this fragile organ in his chest that was scarred and scabbed beyond repair could open up even just a crack to let someone that special in? He was scared and frankly, a bit thrilled. The rush of adrenaline spiking through his blood stream spurred him forward as he dashed up the stairs, skidding around each corner, his feet stomping as he ran. 

* * *

The metal door to the rooftop swung open and hit the brick wall on the side with a bang, startling the only occupant standing by the balcony with her back to him. Jon watched her silver hair shimmer under the moonlight as she turned to face him. He probably looked a sweaty, hot mess having rushed up all those stairs, hair all dishevelled and sticking up in every direction, chest heaving, but in that moment he couldn’t think about anything else other than the woman in front of him. As their eyes met, his heart began to soar. The black dragon above his collarbone started to burn and change shape, curling inwards onto itself as if it were ready to go to sleep after a long journey through the skies in search of his counterpart.   
  
Ahead of him came a surprised gasp. Jon observed as the woman placed her palm against her collarbone. Could she be feeling the same sensations as him? Wordlessly, their souls reached for one another as they took tentative steps forward, bridging the distance between each other to meet in the middle, coming to a stop about a foot away from one another, face to face, two souls meeting for the very first time and yet, not. It felt like they’d known each other for ages. This was a homecoming.  
  
Breath caught in his throat, his eyes drifted down to the slender, slightly trembling hand reaching up to him. Gingerly, the woman cupped his cheek almost like she couldn’t believe he was real, that he was standing right there before her. Her soft fingers stroking at his skin, through his beard felt strange and yet familiar. Leaning into her touch, the involuntary purr at the back of his throat rumbled as his eyes fluttered at her touch.   
  
“It’s you.” Dany breathed. Her soul mate was real and he found her. Jon observed in an awe struck daze as a broad grin bloomed across her pale face, her cheeks now dusted with a beautiful pinkish blush under the moonlight. The prickling of tears that sparkled in her eyes caught his eyes. In his opinion, they only accentuated her beauty. If she really was his soul mate, he was one lucky man.  
  
Swallowing, his tongue peeked out to wet his lips. “I hate to break up this moment but umm... do you by any chance live in this building too?”  
  
Taken aback, Dany laughed and nodded nonetheless. “Yes, I do.” Her soul mate had a lovely voice, a husky voice that matched his gorgeously rugged appearance. That stubbly chin, angular nose, soulful brown eyes that looked like warm melted chocolate that she could swim in them forever and her fingers itched to run through those wild tousled raven curls. He was just perfect.   
  
Her laughter was just as beautiful as her features. He already craved to hear more of it. She looked like a delicately crafted porcelain doll. Looking at her made him want to pull her into his arms and keep her safe and loved. Once again, Jon found himself short of breath. How had she been so close by without him knowing? Her silver locks seemed to reflect the moonlight, making it glow. Her purple eyes made her look like a mystical being, like an elf or a pixie out of a fairy tale. He had the compelling urge to caress her flawless skin with the pad of his fingertips, to test if his theory was true, to see if it was as smooth as it looked. Her slightly parted mouth framed by peach pink lips looked so tempting, when she bit it like that, so welcoming to touch with his own set of lips. 

Tentatively, Jon rested his hands on her hips and gave her a gentle tug. With an anxious giggle, Dany went to him, willingly, diminishing the finite space between their bodies until they were fully aligned, chest to chest. As she moved, the sleeve of her knitted jumper had slid off her shoulder, giving him full view of her soul mark. The dragon was identical to his except for its colour and position. Her dragon was white and lay curled up just like his, but upside down, like looking at your image in a mirror.   
  
Their lips found each other tenderly, exploring unsurely at first, testing the waters. Her lips were so plump and supple. They felt like the insides of a rose bud, he loved them already.   
  
To her, his lips were a little chapped from the autumn chill but his sweet almost hesitant lips felt so good, her heart filled and filled with love. Slowly but surely, his lips grew bolder, fishing for more of her kisses. The beating organ between the cradle of her rib cages wanted to break free, to pound right out of her chest to join with his. Her soul had finally found its anchorage and it was everything she had hoped for and more.   
  
“Hello, Dany. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Her handsome soul mate rasped as he clung to her trying to catch his breath.  
  
A thoroughly kissed Dany echoed his greeting through her hazy mind. A lazy smile decorated her lips. “Hello.”  
  
“My name is Jon by the way.” Unable to resist the magnetic pull of her lips so close to his, he dropped another kiss to her swollen lips again, before he continued breathlessly, “I believe we have some catching up to do?”  
  
Together, the newly reunited souls made a lovely picture. The two of them were the physical representations of a beautiful union, just like the intertwining of the black and white dragons upon their chests, resembling yin and yang.  
  
“Yeah, we do.” Right there with her eyes closed, with the feel of his arms encircling her waist and his hands on her hips, her lips tingly from his kisses, she knew she was home. 

Bizarrely, Jon felt a total sense of completion with her as if a space within the depths of his soul had been filled. The one thing that he sworn himself into not believing had turned out to be real and was standing right there between his arms. With her, he didn’t feel afraid anymore. He didn’t have to because he believed that she would do as she had promised. She would treasure his heart as he would hers. There was so much he wanted to know about her, he imagined it was the same for her too and he couldn’t wait for all the new things this woman would bring to his life. His heart was singing a tune of joy, something he hadn’t truly felt in a while. Hopefully, she would be happy with him too. For better or for worse, they were soul mates and he reckoned that they would be just fine as long as they stayed together.

**Author's Note:**

> So there!
> 
> It's been super fun working on this fic and making the mood board with Iris (midqueenally on tumblr). I hope you guys liked it.
> 
> Do tell me what you guys thought about this fic if you can! See ya next time~


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